Two-element antenna phasing attachment for television receiver



M. MANDL A ril 16, 1968 TWOELEMENT ANTENN A PHASING ATTACHMENT FOR TELEVISION RECEIVER Filed Feb. 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 16, 1968 M. MANDL 3,378,850

TWO-ELEMENT ANTENNA PHASING ATTACHMENT FOR TELEVISION RECEIVER Filed Feb. 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet P,

N v Q t\ B United States Patent 0 3,378,850 TWO-ELEMENT ANTENNA PHASING ATTACH- MENT FOR TELEVISION RECEIVER Matthew Mandl, Yardley, Pa., assignor to Snyder Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 431,588 10 Claims. (Cl. 343--702) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An antenna phasing attachment for a television receiver having at least one permanent antenna element mounted therefrom is provided and includes a support casing attachable to the television receiver. A conductive phasing stub and a conductive phasing element are supported by the casing. A selection switch is supported by the casing having a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal and having a pair of antenna coupling terminals selectively connectable to different combinations of the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal. The first terminal is connected to the phasing element and the second and third terminals are connected to opposite ends of the phasing stub. Connector means is employed for electrically connecting at least one of the antenna coupling terminals to the at least one permanent antenna element to change the impedance match between the receiver and the permanent antenna.

The present invention relates to an antenna phasing attachment employing antenna phasing elements for receiving electromagnetic waves, and, more particularly, to an indoor antenna attachment primarily for use with television receivers having at least one antenna mounted therefrom.

In commercial television receivers, various antenna systems have been devised for receiving the polarized broadcast signal. Many of these antenna systems involve a singlerod unipole antenna or a double-rod dipole an tenna mounted from the television receiver as an integral part thereof. As pointed out in US. Patent No. 2,934,764, entitled Antenna Structure With Switching Means, of E. M. Noll et al., assigned to a common assignee, involving a related antenna structure, the polarized signal received at the home antenna may be either vertically polarized due to reflections from the ground or horizontally polarized as broadcast, or may contain components of both horizontally and vertically polarized signals.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an antenna phasing V system having phasing elements attachable to the televisions regular antenna for pickup of both horizontal and vertical components of the broadcast signal which may be received, thereby improving the picture quality of the television receiver. It is with such a system that the present invention is primarily concerned.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel antenna phasing attachment is provided for electrical connection to a permanent antenna mounted as an integral part of the television receiver. The antenna phasing attachment employs a support casing attachable to the television receiver, a phasing element supported by the casing and a phasing stub. A selection switch having a pair of antenna coupling terminals is supported by the casing' The selection switch is provided for selectively electrically connecting the phasing element or the phasing stub or combinations thereof to the antenna coupling terminals of the switch. The attachment of the present invention provides connector means for electrically connecting at least one of the antenna coupling terminals to the permanent antenna mounted from the television receiver.

3,378,850 Patented Apr. 16, 1968 Since the television receiver may have two permanent antenna elements, such as a d0ublerod dipole antenna, the apparatus is preferably provided with two connector means, one to connect each of the antenna coupling terminals to a different element of the permanent antenna.

In preferred embodiments of the attachment, both a phasing stub and a phasing element are employed. In this case the selection switch supported by the casing is provided with first, second and third terminals, the first terminal being connected to the phasing element and each of the other terminals being connected respectively to opposite ends of the phasing stub. The pair of antenna terminals are selectively connectable to different combinations of the first, second and third terminals. Connector means electrically connect the antenna terminals to the permanent antenna elements of the television receiver. By this arrangement, the antenna phasing attachment may be used to couple to the permanent antenna a variety of combinations of the phasing elements associated with the phasing attachment. The switch of the antenna phasing attachment makes it possible to try various combinations until a definite improvement in reception of the signal is experienced. Improvements in reception which may be achieved include reduction of snow-effect, clearer picture, greater contrast, and a reduction in interference.

Additionally, tests have demonstrated that the novel phasing attachment of the present invention often provides improvement of picture when coupled to the antenna terminals of a television receiver employing an outside antenna. The antenna phasing attachment in this case provides an improved impedance match between the receiver and the twin lead conductor connecting the outdoor antenna to the receiver antenna terminals.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the antenna phasing attachment of the present invention attached to the side of a television receiver with connection from the attachment to the antenna mounted as an integral part of the receiver;

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the attachment of the present invention with a portion of the selector switch dial broken away;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the attachment of FIG. 2 with portions of the rear panel broken away;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the antenna phasing attachment taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the present invention taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram. of a possible circuit arrangement of the present invention with the selection switch contact positions illustrated in detail.

Referring to FIG. 1, an overall system embodying the present invention will be seen. The antenna phasing attachment, generally designated 10, is illustrated attached to a television receiver 12 having an antenna mounted therefrom as an integral part thereof. More specifically, the television receiver 12 has a double-rod dipole antenna mounted therefrom having antenna rods 14 and 16. The antenna phasing attachment 10 is electrically c0nnected to antenna rods 14 and 16 by elccrical connectors 13 and 2%, preferably separate wires, terminated in suitable means fcr fastening to the antenna rods, such as crocodile clips 22 and 24, respectively.

The phasing elements of the antenna phasing attachment of the present invention, as can be seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, consist of a conductive folded phasing element 3% and a conductive phasing stub 32, both of the auxiliary elements being mounted on a support casing generally designated 34. In this instance, the support casing 34 comprises generally a box-like structure of molded resinous material, the bottom of which provides a front 36. The front portion has an inverted trapezoidal front face 36, preferably in the form of an inverted regular trapezoid with its major axis vertical. The sidewalls and 42 and the top 44 and bottom 46 of the casing are formed integrally with and generally perpendicular to front face 36 and connected together at their corners to provide a box-like compartment whose shape is defined by front 36 of the casing. The back portion 37 of the casing provides a removable cover and is generally flat and of the same inverted trapezoidal shape as front face 36. The back 37 fits into a recess 48 formed by reducing the thickness of the top and sidewalls of the casing which recess permits the back 37 to fit flush with the extension of bottom 46, the sidewalls and the top. For a more ornamental appearance of the casing, the sidewalls and bottom are formed such that with back 37 in place and the casing resting against the television set, the front face 36 is gradually outwardly sloping from the bottom upward with respect to vertical orientation. In this instance, the back 37 is held to the casing by means of suitable screws 50 and 52 threaded through the back 37 near the top and bottom and into bosses 54 and 56, respectively, formed integrally with the casing 34.

In the form of the structure herein illustrated, the casing is separated from the television set by means of soft pad 58, such as felt or rubber placed on back 37 between .two longitudinally extending ribs and 62. The pad 58 is held to the back by means of a suitable adhesive material and is provided with suitable adhesive material on its other side which may be covered by paper. The pad and paper may be of a conventional type such that when the paper is stripped away exposing the adhesive surface of the pad, the adhesive surface of the pad when pressed against the television receiver casing adheres thereto, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The front face 36 of the casing is provided with an opening 67 through which the rotatable shank of the movable part of a selection switch 68 protrudes. Attached at the end of the shank is a circular adjustment knob 70 which may be of a transparent resinous material. Knob 70 has a radially off-center circular position indicator mark 72 which may be revolved about the center of the knob to select positions indicated by raised circular button-like projections 74 formed integrally with front face 36. Projections 74 are arranged in a circular arrangement around the shaft at the same radius as indicator 72 and preferably have position designations printed thereon indicative of operative connections of the selection switch in the position where the indicator 72 overlies that projection.

The selection switch 68 is mounted to the front face 36 of the casing by conventional means, for example, a nut threaded on an externally threaded sleeve projection from switch housing 68 and within which the rotatable shank is located. The nut bears against an annular outwardly extending flange 73 around the opening 67 and pulls the selection switch housing 68 against radially extending projections 75 formed integrally with the inside wall of the front face 36 around opening 67.

As seen in FIG. 3, the selection switch is provided with a first terminal 80, a second terminal 82 and a third terminal 84 located on an insulating portion of the back of the switch housing. First terminal is connected by lead 86 to auxiliary antenna terminal connection member 88, which is conductively attached to one end of phasing element 30 within the casing. In this particular instance, phasing element 30 is composed of a heavy solid rod folded roughly into a U-shaped form and is supported by the casing such that the element from the terminal member 88 extends generally vertically disposed downward and out of an opening in bottom 46. Thence, phasing element 36 is bent back on itself in a hairpin turn and brought vertically upward immediately adjacent the front 36.

More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, phasing element 30 is laterally supported within the casing between two pairs of vertically extending ribs 90 and 92 and 96 and 98, which provide snugly accommodating channels. Both sets of ribs are formed integrally with the casing and extend the depth of the casing. The portion of the phasing element within the casing is bent into a double reverse bend so that it generally defines a plane and extends adjacent to back 37. The double bend enables the ribs 90 and 92 to hold the element in the plane defined by the bend and that portion which extends adjacent back 37 is held there by horizontally extending spacer rib 94 which is not quite as deep as ribs 90 and 92 between which it extends. Rib 92 has boss 56, which receives screw 52, formed as an integral part thereof. The U-shaped or hairpin bend of the phasing element is shown located just beneath the opening in the casing through which the phasing element extends. The angle of approach to the bend in the element from the back of the inside of the casing is calculated to permit the exposed end of the element to extend upwardly close spaced and parallel to the front face 36. The exposed end of the element terminates in a ball which is received in an insulating socket 100 formed as an arcuate outwardly extending flange and a portion of front face 36. This socket holds the phasing element rigidly supported by the casing. In one particular example, the phasing element was 10% inches in length but different lengths have been and may be used to achieve different effects at different frequencies of operation of the television receiver.

The second and third terminals 82 and 84, respectively, of selection switch 68 are electrically connected by leads and 112, respectively, to ends of conductors 32a and 3212, respectively, of shorted phasing stub 32. In this particular example, the casing has two parallel sets of ribs which support the respective parallel conductors 32a and 32b of the phasing stub. More specifically, the inner Walls of top 44 and front face 36 are provided with integrally formed downwardly extending vertical ribs 114 and 116 located adjacent sidewall 42 and spaced apart to define a channel to receive conductor 32a which projects upwardly through an opening in the housing provided therefor. As can be seen in FIG. 5, a horizontally extending spacer rib 118 is formed between but not as deep as ribs 114 and 116 and a mating finger-like projection 119 from back 37 extends between ribs 114 and 116 cooperating to hold conductor 32a of the phasing stub in a fixed position.

Similarly, conductor 32b of the phasing stub is supported by the casing. The inner walls of top 44 and front face 36 are also provided with ribs 120 and 122 form d adjacent sidewall 40 of the casing, the ribs being spaced apart to define a channel to receive conductor 30]) of the phasing stub. Conductor 32b extends upwardly between ribs 120 and 122 and through an opening in the top 44 of the casing provided therefor. A horizontally extending spacer rib 124 extends between and for part of the depth of ribs 120 and 122. A finger-like projection 126 from back 37 extends between ribs 120 and 122 to cooperate with spacer rib 124 to hold conductor 32b in a fixed position between ribs 120 and 122.

In one particular embodiment, the phasing stub was composed of a heavy rod to provide some self-supporting rigidity. The rod is bent in a U-shape to provide conductors 32a and 32b, which are bent in generally the same direction after projecting upward through top 44 of the casing and wrapped in parallel courses around the casing, sidewalls and bottom. Horizontally extending spacer lugs 130 and 132 on sides 40 and 42, respectively, help to keep the conductors separated. The phasing stub is folded beneath the bottom wall and below the bend in phasing element 30. Conductors 32a and 32]) are shorted at their ends adjacent top 44 in an inverted U-shaped form and as mentioned above, preferably consist of a single conductor. In this instance the phasing stub is spaced outwardly from back 37 of the casing by a vertically extendaa'iassa ing flange 45 preferably formed as an integral part of the back. In this particular embodiment the phasing stub is approximately 46 /2 inches in overall length. In other embodiments the length of the phasing stub may be different to produce somewhat different effects at different frequencies of operation of the television receiver.

It will be appreciated that the auxiliary antenna phasing element and the phasing stub might be bent or folded in a variety of different shapes and patterns and could be composed of a variety of forms of conductive materials. The present instance is but one example of a functional yet ornamental arrangement of the phasing element and phasing stub.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the electrical conductors 18 and 20 are brought into the casing through an opening in back 37 and connected to selection switch 68. The connectors 18 and 20 are connected to a pair of antenna coupling terminals 140 and 142, respectively, of the selection switch, schematically illustrated in the circuit diagram of FIG. 6. The selection switch 68 illustrated in FIG. 6 is arranged to provide connection of each of the antenna coupling terminals 140 and 142 to different combinations of the first, second and third terminals 80, 82 and 84, respectively. The selection switch employed in this instance permits six combinations of connections of the phasing elements to the two permanent antenna elements. In this particular case the antenna coupling terminals 140 and 142 are connected to brushes 144 and 146, respectively, which contact conductive rings 148 and 150, respectively. The conductive rings 148 and 150 are mounted concentrically about the axis of rotation of a rotatable switch member 152 which carries radially spaced contacts 154 and 156 conductively connected to the respective rings so that contact 154 is effectively at the potential of terminal 141) and contact 156 is at the potential of terminal 142. First, second and third termin-als 8t), 82 and 84 are connected to electrical conductors 160, 162 and 164, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 6, different combinations of conductors 160, 162 and 164 are connected to switch contact sets 165a, 165b, 165e, 165d, 165e, and 165f, which arepositioned to be contacted by the movable switch contacts 154 and 156.

One of the three contacts of the set 165a is connected through conductor 160 to the folded phasing element 30 and the other two contacts of set 165a are connected through conductors 162 and 164, respectively, to opposite ends of phasing stub 32. In the arrangement of the two contacts of set 165b, one contact is connected to conductor 160 and the other contact is connected to conductor 164. In the connection of the three contacts of set 165e, two contacts are connected to conductors 160 and 164, respectively, and the other contact is connected to conductor 162. In the case of the two contacts of set 165d, one contact is connected to conductor 160 and the other contact is connected to conductor 162. In the connection of the two contacts of set 165e, one contact is connected to conductor 162 and the other contact is connected to conductor 164. In the arrangement for the two contacts of set 16 5 one contact is connected to conductor 164 and the other is connected to conductor 160.

In the operation of the circuit of FIG. 6, the selection switch 68 may be moved from one operable position to another by rotation of knob 70, which is coupled to rotatable switch member 152. When the selection switch is in the position where contacts 154 and 156 are contacting the contacts of set 165a, the input terminal 140 will effectively be connected to the folded phasing element while terminal 142 is connected to opposite ends of the phasing stub. When the contacts of set 16512 are connected, terminal 140 will be connected to the folded phasing element while terminal 142 will be connected to one side of the phasing stub. When the contacts of set 165a are contacted, input terminal 140 will be connected to the folded phasing element and one side of the phasing stub and input terminal 142 will be connected to the other side of the phasing stub. When the contacts of set 165d are contacted, input terminal will be connected to the folded phasing element and input terminal 142 will be connected to one side of the phasing stub. When the co tacts of set 3165c are contacted, input terminal 140 will be connected to one side of the phasing stub and input terminal 142 will be connected to the other side of the phasing stub. When the contacts of set are contacted, the input terminal 140 will be connected to one side of the phasing stub and input terminal 142 will be connected to the folded phasing element.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that different connections of the selection switch may be obtained by adding or deleting contact sets. The present arrangement of the selection switch is a preferred arrangement which has proved to be advantageous.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described in use with a television set having a doublerod dipole antenna, the antenna phasing attachment of the present invention may be advantageously employed with television sets having other antenna arrangements. For example, the antenna phasing attachment can be used with a television set having a single-rod unipole antenna mounted therefrom as an integral part thereof to provide definite improvement in pictures. In such an arrangement, one of the electrical connectors through its associated crocodile clip would be fastened to the single-rod antenna and the other clip would be fastened to one of the antenna terminals of the television receiver, and, if none, to any screw or chassis bolt available on the back of the television receiver. Also, it has been demonstrated that the antenna phasing attachment of the present invention improves the quality of the picture received on television receivers employing outdoor antennas. In this instance, the clips of the electrical connectors are attached to the antenna terminals of the television receiver, the phasing system being employed to alter and improve the phase relationships between the antenna and receiver. This is desirable since most dipole antennas are mismatched in resistance to the antenna terminals of the television receiver. By employing the phasing attachment across the antenna terminals of the receiver with an outdoor antenna, an improvement in impedance has been found in relation to the twin lead conductor employed generally in connecting the outdoor antenna to the television recciver antenna terminals.

Modifications of the antenna phasing apparatus and its configuration described herein will occur to those skilled in the art. All such modifications are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An antenna phasing attachment for a television receiver having at least one permanent antenna element mounted therefrom, comprising:

a support casing attachable to said television receiver;

a conductive phasing stub supported by said casing;

a conductive phasing element supported by said casing;

a selection switch supported by said casing having a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal and having a pair of antenna coupling terminals selectively connectable to different combinations of said first terminal, said second terminal and said third terminal; said first terminal being connected to said phasing element and said second and third terminals being connected to opposite ends of said phasing stub; and

connector means for electrically connecting at least one of said antenna coupling terminals directly to said at least one permanent antenna element.

2. The attachment of claim 1 in which said phasing stub comprises an elongated metallic member bent to form conductors following parallel courses.

3. The attachment of claim 1 in which said phasing element comprises an elongated metallic member bent into a generally U-shaped form and is generally vertically disposed.

4. The attachment of claim 1 in which said selection switch is arranged such that in one position one of said antenna coupling terminals will be connected to said phasing element and the other antenna coupling terminal will be connected to opposite ends of said phasing stub,

in another position said one antenna coupling terminal will be connected to said phasing element and said other antenna coupling terminal will be connected to one end of said phasing stub, in another position said one antenna coupling terminal will be connected to said phasing element and one end of said phasing stub and said other antenna coupling terminal will be connected to the other end of said phasing stub, in another position said one antenna coupling terminal will be connected to said phasing stub and said other antenna coupling terminal will be connected to said phasing element, and in still another position said one antenna coupling terminal will be connected to one end of said phasing stub and said other antenna coupling terminal will be connected to the other end of said phasing stub.

5. The attachment of claim 1, in which said support casing comprises a box-like enclosure containing said terminals.

6. The attachment of claim 5 in which said phasing element comprises a continuous rod-like element bent double providing a conductive connection at one end, said phasing element being held fixed internal-1y of said casing and extending out of said casing to a captive position adjacent a surface of said casing.

7. The attachment of claim 5 in which said phasing stub comprises a continuous rod-like member held fixed at both ends by said casing and bent to form conductors following parallel courses around a portion of said casing.

8. An antenna phasing attachment for a television receiver having at least one permanent antenna element mounted therefrom, comprising:

a support casing attachable to said television receiver;

.a conductive phasing element supported by said casing;

a first terminal supported by said casing and electrically connected to said phasing element;

a conductive phasing stub supported by said casing;

second and third terminals supported by said casing and electrically connected to opposite ends of said phasing stub;

a selection switch supported by said casing and having a pair of antenna coupling terminals selectively connectable to different combinations of said first, second and third terminals; and

connector means for electrically connecting at least one of said antenna coupling terminals directly to said at least one permanent antenna element.

9. An antenna phasing attachment for a television receiver having a pair of permanent antenna elements mounted therefrom, comprising:

a support casing attachable to said television receiver;

a conductive phasing stub supported by said casing;

a conductive phasing element supported by said casing;

a selection switch supported by said casing having a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal and having a pair of antenna coupling terminals selectively connectable to different combinations of said first terminal, said second terminal and said third terminal; said first terminal being connected to said phasing element and said second and third terminals being connected to opposite ends of said phasing stub; and

connector means for electrically connecting each of said antenna coupling terminals to a different one of said permanent antenna elements.

10. The attachment of claim 9 in which the phasing element comprises an elongated metallic member bent into a generally U-shaped form with one end being con nected to the first terminal and the other end terminating in a metallic ball.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1960 Noll et al 343725 X 10/1964 Taylor 343702 

